# 20,000 metres

The 20,000 metres (approximately 12.43 mi or 65,617 ft) is a rarely contested long-distance running event in track and field competitions; most world records in the event have been set during half marathons and one-hour races, as a half marathon is roughly 21,000 meters.

## World Records

+ = indicates a time was taken at an intermediate distance in a longer race

### Men

* Zersenay Tadese in the lead pack of the 2013 Prague Half MarathonUpdated January 2024.
| Event | Result | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Place | Meeting | Citation |
| 20,000 m (track) | 56:20.02+ | Bashir Abdi | Belgium | 4 September 2020 | Brussels | Memorial Van Damme | |
| 20 km (road) | 54:29+ | Jacob Kiplimo | Uganda | 21 Nov 2021 | Lisbon | Lisbon Half Marathon | |

### Women

* Correct as of January 2024.
| Event | Result | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Place | Meeting | Citation |
| 20,000 m (track) | 1:05:26.6 | Tegla Loroupe | Kenya | 3 Sep 2000 | Borgholzhausen | | |
| 20 km (road) | 59:35+ | Letesenbet Gidey | Ethiopia | 24 Oct 2021 | Valencia | Valencia Half Marathon | |

## All-time top 25

* + = en route to longer performance
* h = hand timed

### Men

* Updated September 2022.
| Rank | Result (m) | Athlete | Nation | Date | Place |
| 1 | 56:20.02+ | Bashir Abdi | Belgium | 4 September 2020 | Brussels |
| 2 | 56:20.30+ | Mo Farah | Great Britain | 4 September 2020 | Brussels |
| 3 | 56:20.55+ | Sabastian Sawe | Kenya | 2 September 2022 | Brussels |
| 4 | 56:26.0+ | Haile Gebrselassie | Ethiopia | 27 June 2007 | Ostrava |
| 5 | 56:51.60+ | Sondre Nordstad Moen | Norway | 7 August 2020 | Kristiansand |
| 6 | 56:55.6+ h | Arturo Barrios | Mexico | 30 March 1991 | La Fléche |
| 7 | 57:07.41+ | Kibiwott Kandie | Kenya | 2 September 2022 | Brussels |
| 8 | 57:18.4+ h | Dionisio Castro | Portugal | 31 March 1990 | La Flèche |
| 9 | 57:24.2+ | Jos Hermens | Netherlands | 1 May 1976 | Arnhem |
| 10 | 57:28.7+ h | Carl Thackery | Great Britain | 31 March 1990 | La Flèche |
| 11 | 57:44.4+ h | Gaston Roelants | Belgium | 20 September 1972 | Brussels |
| 12 | 57:48.7 | Toshihiko Seko | Japan | 11 May 1985 | Odawara |
| 13 | 57:50.25+ | Morhad Amdouni | France | 19 September 2020 | Lucciana |
| 14 | 58:17.3+ | Daniel Mateo | Spain | 20 April 2021 | La Nucía |
| 15 | 58:18.4+ | Bertrand Itsweire | France | 31 March 1990 | La Flèche |
| 16 | 58:25.0 | Bill Rodgers | United States | 9 August 1977 | Boston |
| 17 | 58:30.2+ | Werner Schildhauer | Germany | 29 April 1983 | Cottbus |
| 18 | 58:37.2+ h | Rob de Castella | Australia | 17 April 1982 | Rome |
| 19 | 58:37.8+ h | Mariano Haro | Spain | 9 August 1975 | San Sebastián |
| 20 | 58:53.6+ | Girmaw Amare | Israel | 26 January 2020 | Tel Aviv |
| 21 | 58:43.8 h | Franco Fava | Italy | 9 April 1977 | Rome |
| 22 | 59:02.0 h | Rashid Sharafetdinov | Soviet Union | 2 May 1971 | Leningrad |
| 23 | 59:14.02 | Stéphane Schweickhardt | Switzerland | 15 April 1998 | Martigny |
| 24 | 59:19.0 | András Fancsali | Hungary | 15 April 1978 | Budapest |
| 25 | 59:24.8+ | Leszek Bebło | Poland | 31 March 1990 | La Flèche |

### Women

* Updated September 2022.
| Rank | Result | Athlete | Nation | Date | Place |
| 1 | 1:05:26.6 | Tegla Loroupe | Kenya | 3 September 2000 | Borgholzhausen |
| 2 | 1:05:35.3 | Dire Tune | Ethiopia | 17 June 2009 | Ostrava |
| 3 | 1:06:48.8 | Izumi Maki | Japan | 19 September 1993 | Amagasaki |
| 4 | 1:06:55.5 | Rosa Mota | Portugal | 14 May 1983 | Lisbon |
| 5 | 1:07:19.9 | Naomi Sakashita | Japan | 10 October 1995 | Amagasaki |
| 6 | 1:07:47.0 | Kaori Kumura | Japan | 19 September 1993 | Amagasaki |
| 7 | 1:07:49.9 | Rika Ota | Japan | 17 June 1992 | Akashi |
| 8 | 1:07:52.0 | Midori Shimizu | Japan | 1 October 1994 | Amagasaki |
| 9 | 1:08:07.6 | Megumi Fujiwara | Japan | 17 June 1992 | Akashi |
| 10 | 1:08:46.6 | Takako Kobayashi | Japan | 1 October 1994 | Amagasaki |
| 11 | 1:08:51.9 | Junko Asari | Japan | 17 June 1992 | Akashi |
| 12 | 1:08:52.6 | Nanae Sasaki | Japan | 29 May 1984 | Tokyo |
| 13 | 1:08:59.2 | Aki Yasaki | Japan | 17 June 1992 | Akashi |
| 14 | 1:09:19.1 | Chiyuki Ona | Japan | 17 June 1992 | Akashi |
| 15 | 1:09:53.0 | Blandine Bitzner | France | 13 May 2000 | La Celle-Saint-Cloud |
| 16 | 1:10:30.4+ | Helena Javornik | Slovenia | 19 July 2006 | Maribor |
| 17 | 1:10:35.0 | Leah Malot | Kenya | 17 June 2009 | Ostrava |
| 18 | 1:10:50.2 | Christa Vahlensieck | West Germany | 25 October 1975 | Essen |
| 19 | 1:10:56.6 | Ágnes Özéné Sipka | Hungary | 16 October 1988 | Székesfehérvár |
| 20 | 1:11:00.0 | Miki Kitajima | Japan | 20 September 1993 | Amagasaki |
| 21 | 1:11:05.0+ | Judit Nagy | Hungary | 22 October 1989 | Székesfehérvár |
| 22 | 1:11:17.6 | Chiara Mainetti | Argentina | 18 June 2022 | Buenos Aires |
| 23 | 1:11:48.9+ | Karolina Szabo | Hungary | 23 April 1988 | Budapest |
| 24 | 1:12:44 | Maria Luisa Irizar | Spain | 23 June 1985 | Laredo |
| 25 | | | | | |

## In popular culture

Tegla Loroupe's 20,000 meter world record was mentioned in Chapter 1, problem 64P of Chemistry (Seventh Edition) by John E. McMurry, Robert C. Fay, and Jill Kirsten Robinson.